Just One Night
by SouthernStars
Summary: He wanted just one night with her. One night where he didn't have to think about the reasons why he wasn't allowed to have her and could only think of why he wanted her. TxG twoshot.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, so I've had this idea in my head for a little while and figured that I'd forget it when I went back to school, it hasn't which means that I've genuinely had an idea. Which, by the way, has completely stunned me! Oh, this may be similar to some other stories floating around and I have to apologize for that, I haven't read any of them so this idea really is my own! Anyway, enjoy!**

_**Just One Night**_

Troy Bolton stepped into his Los Angeles home and was immediately greeted with a rich, Italian aroma and the sound of a soft voice singing along to the stereo he knew was rarely ever off. Smiling tiredly as the voice grew slightly louder, he dropped his gym bag by the door and kicked off his shoes, shutting the door quietly before heading immediately for the kitchen where he knew who was waiting for him. Stepping into the kitchen he'd always thought was much too large, the tired smile on his face grew as he took in the woman in the kitchen. She was standing by the stove, stirring what he could only guess was dinner, her ebony curls caught up in a messy bun he could only guess had been the rather perfect one he'd seen when he'd left, glancing down he noted that she'd had a shirt change since he'd last seen her, early in the afternoon, instead of the worn red shirt she'd been wearing, she was now wearing one of his old ones and he knew he'd be lying if he didn't like how it looked on her. From the back anyway. Stepping into the kitchen further, he cast his eyes around the room and then sighed in quiet relief when he heard the sound of laughter come from the living room that was situated just off from the kitchen. Glancing back at the woman at the stove, he ran a hand through his already mussed hair and wondered whether he should stand there and watch her for a while longer or announce his presence by scaring the living daylights out of her. Because the first appealed so much more than the second, Troy allowed himself one more solitary moment of watching her before he stepped towards the stereo and quietly turned it off, laughing to himself when she kept on singing to the music that was no longer on. As quietly as he could, he slipped over to her and, after making sure there was no way she could burn herself, grabbed her sides in a quick movement that had her jumping in the air and screaming loudly.

Before she could react in anyway, Troy was back behind the bench and watching her in a thorough amusement as she spun around to face him, breathing heavily. Just seeing her face, caused his smile to turn into a grin as a twenty-one year old Gabriella Montez raised the wooden spoon she'd been stirring the sauce with and pointed it at him accusingly.

"Hey Brie. How's it going?" Troy asked, sitting down in one of the stools and propping his chin onto his fist as she glared at him.

"Damn it Troy! Why do you have to scare me like that?" She half-yelled at him and Troy shrugged, noting how mad she looked and feeling even more pleased with himself.

"My day was good too. Coach absolutely drilled us in training and I was hoping you'd cook dinner. I didn't really feel like calling up the pizza place." He said, still grinning and watched as Gabriella tried to keep glaring at him and was beginning to fail miserably. She folded her arms as Troy continued to grin at her, finding absolute pleasure in watching as her resolve to at least try and stay mad at him crumbled and her eyes softened to the quiet brown that he'd let himself fall into so many times before.

"Tired and sore, huh?" She asked sympathetically, leaning on the bench after turning to burner down to low.

"Yep. Tired and sore. I can't believe how hard they worked us today. I swear to God, it was like we'd lost a game not won one." Troy replied, making no objection when she reached out and rubbed his forearm gently.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," she said, leaving her hand on his arm as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Trust me on this. It was." He stated and she laughed at his condemnation of his training session. Before she could reply, a cry was heard from the living room and Troy found himself snapping back to reality as Gabriella pulled her hand away and he stood up.

He had to stop doing that! He had to stop coming home and walking into the kitchen and falling into that false mindset that Gabriella was more to him, so much more than nearly anything in his life. That she was standing there waiting for him to come home so that he could tell her about his day, before helping her with the rest of dinner and then greeting her properly when the only thing to do was to wait for the dinner to cook. He always did it, he'd been doing it ever since he'd realized that somewhere between getting to know her and knowing her a little too well, he'd fallen in love with her. He didn't know when, where, or why he'd fallen in love with the twenty-one year old student from UCLA but he did know he had and he'd known as soon as he'd realize he had, that he couldn't act on it. The reasons were plenty; there was the six year age difference between them, something he constantly told himself to remember every time he was around her, then there was the fact that he was a national basketballer who, for someone reason that completely mystified him, had paparazzi following him around every time he left the house, he didn't want Gabriella dealing with something like that. Troy knew how lame all those reasons were, Gabriella herself on many occasions had actually contradicted those reasons herself and any of the other reasons he'd either made up or exaggerated to stop himself acting on his feelings for her. Because there was only one reason he didn't allow himself to act on his feelings for her, one singly, huge reason that had stopped him dating nearly altogether, one reason that complicated his feelings for Gabriella more than a little bit. Stepping into the living room, Troy smiled slightly as he saw the one reason he was never going to act on his feelings for Gabriella Montez.

Eighteen-month old Grace Bolton caught sight of her father and immediately the tears that had started dried up as she clapped her hands and giggled loudly. Troy laughed at his daughters' reaction to his presence and leaned down to pick her up from the play area Gabriella had set up right in front of the television. She'd only been part of his life for a year and a half, but Troy had never regretted having Grace at all, no matter what he'd thought when his one-night stand had rung him and informed him that because he'd gotten her pregnant, he was the one that was going to raise the child. She hadn't wanted anything to do with having the kid and, as she'd informed a shell-shocked Troy, because abortion was not one of her beliefs, she was going to have the baby and then hand it straight off to him. Troy had been nearly twenty-five and the thought of having a kid had scared him to death. For the nine months after the phone call, he'd sweated, played the worst basketball in the history of the game, got drunk weekly and slowly became excited at the idea of a child. And by slowly, he meant a sloth would have moved faster than his excitement for a child. He'd managed to get there though, after he'd gotten over the anger he'd felt at the fact that his perfect future had been marred with one mistake he couldn't even _remember_ making, after the paparazzi had had their fun with the story that Grace's mother had sold them, mocking him, amusing themselves with the idea that Troy Bolton, legend in the making, was going to be a father and possibly lose the multi-million dollar contract he'd only just signed when he'd found out. At the height of the slander, Troy had seriously considered becoming a hermit and living out his days inside the house he'd bought to accommodate him and the coming baby.

To put it simply, it had been nine months of pure hell. Nine months were he'd had to deal with lectures from him parents, cynicism from everyone but his friends and as little support as someone could go on. But then Grace had been born and as soon as he'd seen her, he'd fallen head over heels in love with the tiny little girl that was all his. He'd received the phone call at two-thirty in the morning from the hospital, informing him that his daughter had been born only five minutes before and he needed to come down to the ward immediately because the mother was refusing to name her and was already making noises about getting out of the hospital. He'd rushed and, within half an hour, had named her and was allowed to take her home. He'd been so amazed at the fact that he had a child that for the hours after he'd placed her in the crib he'd bought, he'd simply sat and watched her, completely in awe of the tiny thing he knew was relying solely on him. Well, he'd been in awe of her up until she'd woken up and started wailing because she was hungry.

"Hey Dreamy," Troy started when he heard Gabriella's soft voice at the same time Grace smacked him in the cheek. Shaking his head slightly, he shifted Grace higher and turned to face Gabriella.

"Yeah, sorry Brie, zoned out there for a moment." He apologized reaching up and successfully grabbing Grace's hand before it could slam into his cheek one again. Grace laughed loudly and let go of his shirt to clap her hands together excitedly.

"That's okay. I just wanted to say that dinners ready if you're hungry." She said reaching out to run a hand over Grace's head as the little girl found something interesting about Troy's shirt.

"_If_ I'm hungry? Brie, you've known me for a year and you still only say _if_ I'm hungry?" Troy asked in disbelief and Gabriella blushed slightly at his words, running a hand over Grace's head again as Troy looked down at her.

"Sorry. Troy, you're hungry, so go have dinner and I'll bath Grace. Deal?" Gabriella asked and Troy narrowed his eyes at her tone. She only ever used that ploy if she was hungry, she knew that Troy nearly always bathed Grace when he was home in time to do it.

"No deal. You have dinner and I'll bath Grace. But you can feed her, while I eat. Deal?" Troy asked, smirking slightly as he watched Gabriella's eyes light up at the suggestion.

"I like that deal. I'll go eat." Troy raised his eyebrows as Gabriella pressed a kiss to Grace's back, who was currently leaning her head against Troy's shoulder and sucking on her fist, before practically running into the kitchen.

"So, baby-girl, is it time for your bath?" Troy said softly into Grace's ear as he heard Gabriella clutter around the kitchen. Grace giggled as his breath tickled her ear and Troy chuckled softly before heading back into the kitchen to take her into the bathroom. He walked past Gabriella, who was sitting at the bench, her Chem textbook open, reading intently as she ate.

"Nerd." He said as he walked past her and Gabriella glared at him as he bounced Grace slightly on his hip.

"Jock." She shot back and Troy laughed as he entered the bathroom and turned on the taps for the bath.

God, she was perfect. He couldn't even call her Grace's nanny anymore, she'd just become so much more and it wasn't because he'd fallen in love with her. It was simply because she was just Gabriella. She was always just Gabriella whether they were out in public together or whether she'd been looking after Grace for a few hours and he'd only just gotten back. She was absolutely perfect and willing to do nearly anything for Grace and that was what was important. Troy had needed a nanny for his daughter after the first six months of Grace's life when his Coach had become not-so-accommodating with him and his training schedule. He'd gone through two before Gabriella had applied for the job and both of those nannies not only had a hidden agenda which Troy was almost certain involved him and his money, but one had 'accidentally' left Grace in the house alone one day because she'd gotten an emergency call from her friend. Troy had flipped when he'd found out and no sooner had he fired her then Gabriella walked through the door. It had been a funny interview, now that he thought about. He could recall, as he lowered Grace into the tub and knelt by it, that he'd snapped at her, told her his experience with the past two nannies and then said that if she was after his money, she could get out. Gabriella had bitten the bait he'd tossed at her, informing him in a haughty tone he'd found a little too attractive for his liking, that if he seriously thought she was there for his money he could go and screw himself, she was a student at UCLA, needed the money and that the other two nannies went to her school and were well known for their exploits with the male population. Needless to say, Gabriella had started the next day.

For the first few months, as he'd gotten to know her, Troy had toyed with idea of making a move on her and then he'd walked in on her playing with Grace. He could still remember it, Grace clapping her hands in delight and giggling as Gabriella played peek-a-boo with her before Grace had reached for her and Gabriella had settled the tiny child on her lap as Grace snuggled into her, falling asleep as Gabriella had flicked on the TV. It had been at that particular moment that Troy had known, he'd actually _known_, that Grace thought of Gabriella as her mother. He'd never really thought about Grace having a mother and the moment he'd realized Gabriella was literally turning into Grace's mother, all thoughts of making a move on her had been shut down and Troy had worked on creating a strong friendship between them to ensure that Gabriella would _want_ to stay as Grace's nanny and not leave for something better. That's why, unfortunately, a relationship with Gabriella was so out of the question. He couldn't risk losing her and if he became involved and then they broke up, what then? Grace would lose the only mother she'd ever known and he couldn't do that to his baby girl, it would kill him to know that the reason Grace had lost Gabriella was because of him.

Feeling something splash onto his shirt, Troy looked down at his daughter and narrowed his eyes at her as she laughed her blue eyes, so similar to his own, sparkling as she kicked her feet again and water once again splashed up over the side of the tub and onto his shirt.

"Okay, that's it, time to get out." Troy said, picking her up and lifting her in the air. Grace clapped her hands as Troy balanced her one-handed, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her before taking her into her room and placing her down onto the change table. Gently, Troy began to dry Grace and chuckled slightly when she yawned as he set her down onto her back again.

"Are you tired baby-girl?" He asked softly as he did up her diaper and reached for her yellow footie-pajamas.

"She didn't take her nap today, that's why she's tired." Troy didn't jump when Gabriella spoke, instead he glanced over at her and raised his eyebrows as he watched her spoon chocolate covered ice-cream into her mouth.

"And why didn't she take a nap today?" He asked as he pulled Grace up into a sitting position, leaving her there as he turned to face Gabriella.

"Cause someone must have fed her sugar today." Gabriella sang pointing her spoon at him accusingly and Troy's eyes widened innocently and he held up his hands in defense.

"I didn't. I swear, just cause you don't have the magic touch with her doesn't mean you can blame me for her not going to sleep when she was meant too!" Troy said and Gabriella rolled her eyes at his words, stepping further into the room and digging her spoon back into her ice-cream.

"Whatever Troy. Try some of this, its really nice." Gabriella brushed off the looming argument and held the spoon up to Troy's mouth. Troy eyed it suspiciously and then opened his mouth allowing her to feed it to him.

"It is really nice." He agreed and then jumped when he felt something heavy land on the arm that had been leaning on Grace's change table. Looking down, he found his daughter slobbering on his arm.

"Grace," he sighed, picking her up and settling her against his side. "You know you're not meant to slobber on my arm. That's just gross." Troy scolded her, kissing her head gently as she yawned again.

"Yeah Grace! Listen to you daddy." Gabriella agreed with a grin and Troy glared at her as she set the bowl of half-finished ice-cream down and reached over to take her from him. Grace looked at Gabriella and then back at Troy as Gabriella settled her on her hip.

"Ma!" She squealed loudly and Troy froze as Gabriella nearly banged her head against Grace's when she whipped it around to stare at the little girl on her hip.

"W-what was that Grace?" Troy asked, clearing his throat nervously as Grace continued to look back and forth between Troy and Gabriella, with a very pleased look on her face.

"Ma!" Grace repeated, looking at Gabriella with a smile. Gabriella smiled back weakly, unsure how to handle what Grace was saying and the way Troy was looking at her.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck as Grace once again repeated the sound, this time confirming that she definitely knew what she was saying and that Grace was definitely referring to Gabriella as her mother. It was the first word she'd spoken a coherent word and Troy couldn't help but feel a little hurt that his name hadn't been the first to come out of her mouth but as he looked at Grace and avoided looking at Gabriella, he could tell his daughter was very pleased with herself and knew that if one of them didn't say something soon, tears would start and Troy never really liked to see his daughter in tears.

"Yes, baby-girl, Ma." He said quietly and didn't look at Gabriella as Grace smiled brightly at his gentle tone before snuggling into the crook of Gabriella's neck.

"I-uh-I-" Troy cut Gabriella stuttering off before she could launch into something he didn't want to hear.

"Can you put her down? I'll go and have some dinner." He said, picking up the bowl of melting ice-cream and heading out of the room before Gabriella could reply or contradict his words.

Troy reached the kitchen and dumped the bowl of ice-cream into the sink. Leaning against it, he swore silently. What the hell had he been thinking? He couldn't say something like that, not when Gabriella was present at least and not when he knew that he would have to explain to Gabriella what was going on and why he'd said that. God, what was he meant to say? She'd looked freaked out enough when Grace had said it and then he'd gone and done that. How stupid could you get? Why the hell had he said it? What on earth had possessed him to agree with his daughter? Letting out a frustrated breath, Troy's shoulders slumped and he turned around and froze. Gabriella was staring at him from the kitchen doorway and he offered her a weak smile.

"She went to sleep almost immediately." She stated, stepping into the kitchen hesitantly and looking over Troy's shoulder.

"That's probably because she didn't have her nap." Troy said as Gabriella stepped around and pulled herself up onto the bench opposite him.

"Yeah. Uh, Troy, upstairs when you…when you agreed with Grace-" Troy cut her off again when he saw the pained expression on her face.

"I'm sorry Gabriella. It's just that Grace really does think of you as her mother and I…just said that." Troy said quickly, wincing slightly at how lame his explanation sounded and the way Gabriella just stared at him like he was insane.

"B-but you can't say something like that to her Troy! What if I'm not around for much longer? What if I get a job on the other side of the country after I finish college?" Gabriella exclaimed and Troy rubbed a hand over his face as he stepped towards her.

"Gabriella, listen to me, please, I don't care about what you're going to do in a couple of years time. I care about right now and right now, I'd prefer Grace thinking of you as her mother than the woman that abandoned her because she was too selfish to want a child." Troy said quietly, looking Gabriella directly in the eye and praying that she didn't protest with his reasoning. Instead, she stared back almost as if trying to decide something.

"Troy if she thinks that now, what are you going to do when she begins to ask questions about why you and me aren't married? Or even together?" Gabriella asked and Troy shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there." He said and then his eyes widened as Gabriella leant forward slightly.

"Or you could just tell her that we are." Gabriella barely whispered before Troy felt her press her lips up against his own. Without much of second thought, Troy kissed back, forgetting all about the reason why he shouldn't be doing this and finally, _finally_, giving into the desire to kiss her the way he'd wanted to for months. Wrapping an arm around her waist Troy pulled her closer, reaching up and tangling a hand in her hair as her arms wound their way around his neck and she held on tightly. Lifting her up off the bench, Troy felt her legs wrap around his waist as he stumbled into the living room and landed on the couch. Breaking the kiss slightly as Gabriella adjusted herself beneath him slightly before capturing them again. Troy's hand slipped from her hair and found the hem of her shirt, pushing it up and reveling slightly in the feel of the soft skin of her stomach. God, he'd wanted this for so long and even though something in the back of his mind was warning him he shouldn't be doing this, warning him that it was just going to screw it all up and Grace was going to be left without a mother, Troy continued to kiss her, wanting to take something without having to think about the consequences of the day after, without having to think about the ramifications of their actions with his daughter.

As Gabriella moaned softly beneath him, Troy's grip on her waist tightened impossibly and he shifted her higher on the couch to kiss down her neck. Why shouldn't he take something he'd wanted so badly, for so long, for just one night?

**A/N: Okay, I'm turning this into a two-shot simply because if I kept going it'd probably end up as one hell of a one-shot and I can't be bothered to write something so long and make it boring. I hope that first part was okay; I personally thought it got a bit boring as it went on but that's just me! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, here is the second part to my one-shot. There's a possibility that I'm going to turn this into a three-shot because I think I can round it off nicely with a third part, but, I'll see how this goes. I hope you enjoy it! **

_**Just One Night**_

He'd fucked up. He'd seriously fucked up. He knew to other people it might not look like he'd fucked up, it probably would have looked like the perfect beginning to a lasting relationship and for once, Troy desperately wished he was one of those people. He wished that when Gabriella came down from her shower he could kiss her and then help her prepare breakfast, snatching kisses in between the preparations before going back into the living room where they had spent the night together and feeding each other whatever it was they had prepared together. Wishing was about as far as he was going to get. Because that scene, the one he could picture all too clearly in his head, was of a couple without complications, a man that didn't come with baggage. Not that he would ever consider Grace baggage. But last night with Gabriella, he hadn't thought about complications or baggage or what was going to happen the next day when they woke up. All he'd thought about was the feel of Gabriella as she moved beneath him; the taste of her as his lips had traveled over her body countless times, discovering new things with ever journey he'd made, the soft moans she made every time he found a new spot to exploit. But now, now that the one night he'd allowed himself with her was over, now that he was thinking rationally he knew he'd seriously fucked up.

How the hell was he meant to tell Gabriella that it was just one night? What the hell was he meant to say to soften the blow that was coming to her? 'I'm sorry Gabriella, I lost my head and spent the night with you when I promised myself I wouldn't because I knew that if something happened between us I'll screw it up like every other relationship I've had hurting not only you, but my daughter as well.' That would go down well with her. Closing his eyes tightly, Troy leaned against the sink and thanked God that Grace wasn't awake yet. He didn't want his eighteen-month old daughter listening to an argument that she probably would never understand and he didn't think he could deal with looking after he if she witnessed him and Gabriella fighting over something that Troy knew shouldn't have happened. It didn't help that in the back of his mind, Troy knew he could avoid the whole confrontation, if he'd just accept the fact that Gabriella felt the same way he did. He knew too that part of the reason he never wanted to be involved with Gabriella was that she was younger than he was and would never want the burden of being tied down to someone. He knew that if he entered a serious relationship with her and then she got the urge to go and see the world, it would be over. She couldn't see the world with a boyfriend and his daughter in the background, it didn't work like that, which was another reason he hadn't made a move on her. She didn't deserve that, she didn't deserve to travel the world with the knowledge that there was a boyfriend and a little girl who thought of her as a mother, waiting back home.

He had to tell her that nothing was going to happen beyond what had happened last night. He would explain to her that he couldn't do that to her or to Grace, he couldn't risk losing her anymore than he could risk losing the fact that she had, more or less, become Grace's mother. Letting out a breath, Troy opened his eyes and felt his resolve weaken instantly as Gabriella stepped into the kitchen, dressed in one of his dress shirts and a pair of his boxers looking like she hadn't just stepped out of the shower, but had tumbled out of bed as well. As soon as she saw him, a smile spread across her face and she walked over to slip her arms around him and bury her face in his bare chest. Troy closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her despite what he'd decided only moments ago.

"Good shower?" He asked, sniffing her hair and feeling his stomach turn as he realized that she'd used some of his shampoo.

"Uh-huh. Good shower. You do realize that your showers are better than the dorm ones, right?" She asked, pulling back slightly to tilt her face up to look him in the face. Troy let out a soft chuckle and ran a hand up her back.

"Of course I do. I went there remember?" He teased her, feeling himself fall into that pretense that was beginning to feel all the more real as he Gabriella stood on her toes to kiss him quickly.

"Ah yes, how could I forget? The coach over there cornered me the other day to rant about how you still are the best player he's ever coached." Gabriella grinned at him cheekily and Troy narrowed his eyes at her tone.

"Oh yeah? What'd you say?" He asked, slipping his hands beneath her shirt and beginning to draw circles on her back.

"That he can't have been coaching long if he thought you were the best player he's ever coached…TROY!" Gabriella shrieked as he poked her and she jumped before bursting into giggles. Troy laughed at her and poked her again, loving the giggles that were spilling from her mouth as she slapped his chest.

Troy gripped her sides tightly as she tried to squirm away from him and swallowed as he realized that if he'd been anyone else, he could do this as often as he wanted. Before he could stop himself or even consider if what he wanted to do was smart, Troy's lips came down on hers hard and he felt Gabriella stiffen in shock before she was kissing back just as desperately as he was. Pulling back, Troy gripped the bottom of his shirt and yanked it up and over her head before kissing her again. As her hands slid up into his hair, Troy's own slipped to her thighs and he lifted her onto the bench, not caring that they knocked the phone of the bench as he hoisted himself up on top of her. Keeping one hand on her thigh, Troy balanced his weight on the other as he pulled away from her lips and skimmed his lips down to her neck and sank his teeth into the curve of her neck. Hearing her moan, Troy bucked his hips once, grinning when she whimpered, as he lavished attention on her neck before going back up to her lips. He groaned against her lips when she wrapped a leg around his waist and nipped his bottom lip. Vaguely, in some far corner of his mind, Troy knew what was going to happen, he registered that he probably would never be able to stand in the kitchen and not remember what was happening and somehow, that thought strengthened and he pulled back.

"Troy…" Gabriella groaned as he looked down at her. Her eyes opened and Troy sighed as he saw the same look she'd been giving him all night, allowing himself one more kiss. Troy ran his hand up and down her leg a few times before he spoke.

"We need to talk Brie." He said quietly and watched as panic flashed through her brown eyes before he slithered off her and picked up his shirt, handing it to her as she sat up and pulled it on.

"What do we need to talk about Troy?" She asked, fingering the hem of his shirt as he looked at her, wondering once again how the hell he was meant to tell her nothing could happen.

"Us. Last night." He said and sighed when her eyes dropped from his. God, this was hard, it was harder because he could tell just by looking at her that she knew what he was going to say.

"What about last night?" Gabriella asked quietly and Troy took a step away from her, wishing he could gather her in his arms.

"Ba-Gabriella, it can't happen. _We_ can't happen." Troy said and closed his eyes as he spoke. "Gabriella, you have no idea how important you are to Grace. In her eyes, you're her mother and you _know_ that just from what happened last night." He continued and opened his eyes to find her gaze on him.

"But why can't we be together? Why is that stopping you?" She asked and Troy stared at her, watching as she made a movement to reach out to him and then clenched into a fist as he let out a breath.

"Because if we become involved I'll screw it up! I _always_screw up my relationships Gabriella! If we become involved, God, if we become involved and I screw up. I'll hurt you and you won't be able to face me and what would that do to Grace? Huh Gabriella? Do you honestly think that I would risk losing the only mother my daughter has because I wanted her?" Troy's voice rose steadily as Gabriella sat there and watched him, her own anger steadily growing as he ran a hand through his hair and waited for his answer.

"Do_you_ honestly think that if we become involved and you hurt me that I would just abandon Grace when I know how much I mean to her? And what honestly makes you think that we wouldn't work? What makes you think that I wouldn't stick around even if you did make a mistake like any other human being?" Gabriella spat at him, jumping down from the bench and staring at him fiercely. Troy looked at her and closed his eyes as he saw the hurt in her eyes, nearly made invisible by the anger in her voice.

"Wouldn't you? Gabriella, I know you love her but if I really hurt you and trust me, I probably would. Would you be able to handle being in the same state as me let alone the same house?" Troy yelled and Gabriella shook her head at his words, glaring up at him furious and hurt.

"Damn it Troy, why are you so sure you'd hurt me? Why are you so sure that I would abandon Grace if you did? What makes you so sure that this is wrong? What the hell is your reasoning behind it all?" Gabriella shouted at him and Troy groaned at her words, his anger bubbling up and over as she stood there and stared at him.

"Grace is the reasoning! For God's sake Gabriella, every reason I've thought of links back to my daughter!" He yelled at her and Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"What other reasons have you thought of Troy? What else have you thought of?" She screamed at him and Troy wanted to strangle her then and there, both completely forgetting that Grace was upstairs.

"You're twenty-one Gabriella! You're twenty-fucking-one! I'm twenty-seven! Jesus, you're twenty-one and after you've finished college you're going to want to leave the States. You're going to want to travel! Do you really think you want to go and travel around the world with a twenty-seven year old boyfriend and his daughter holding you back from having the time of your life? Does that really appeal to you?" Troy shouted, gripping his hair as she stared at him and his words sank in. Troy felt his stomach revolt violently when he saw a tear spill down her cheek and drip off her chin. The silence in the kitchen was deafening as Troy watched another tear slide down her cheek and knew that if he thought he'd fucked up before, nothing was compared to this.

"W-what if I love you? What if I don't want to travel? What if I just want to stay here with you and Grace and that nothing else matters to me apart from you and Grace?" Troy felt his heart wrench at her words and knew that there really was no what if in her questions.

"Gabriella-" He started and she shook her head wildly, cutting him off.

"No. Please Troy, what if it was like that? What if last night was the start of something we both want?" She asked and Troy swallowed as more tears spilt over and silence once again descended on them.

"They're just what ifs Gabriella." He said quietly and more tears spilt down her cheeks. "Last night, I asked myself why I shouldn't take something I've wanted for so long and so badly, for just one night. Gabriella, you have no idea how much last night means to me. You don't-" Gabriella interrupted him before he could continue and Troy looked at her and felt his own eyes become moist as he looking into her hurt face.

"What about me Troy? Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to touch me like that? Do you know how long I've waited to meet someone I love before I gave myself to them fully?" She yelled at him and Troy froze, everything inside him turned to ice as her last sentence sank in. Gabriella herself seemed to freeze and choke on the words that were about to come out as she looked at him.

"You…you were a…" Troy trailed off as Gabriella let out a gasping sob and backed away from him, her eyes wide with hurt as she realized Troy hadn't known. Troy just stared at her, unable to think as he watched tears stream down her cheeks and drip off her chin.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." She whispered and Troy took one step towards her, one step as he realized how screwed up the argument had become and she shook her head at him, her breathing erratic as she looked at him.

"Gabriella…" Troy trailed off as he realized he didn't know what to say and she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"Troy, I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She said and Troy looked at her and caught a glimpse of the heart he was breaking in her eyes before she tore from the kitchen. He stood there, unable to move, unable to even_think_ as he stared at the spot Gabriella had occupied only moments ago.

She'd given herself to him. She loved him. He'd fucked her over because he thought he was doing the right thing. Troy felt his legs beginning to give way and he sank against the bench, covering his face with his hands as he heard the front door slam and echo through the house. What the hell had he just done? Had he really thrown away the perfect girl for him and his daughter because he thought he was going to hurt her? Had he really told her that she didn't want to be involved with him because she was twenty-one and would want to go traveling once college was over? Had he really not listened to her when she'd said that nothing mattered to her apart from him and Grace? Troy slammed his fist against the cupboard below the bench and heard would splinter as he did it again and again. Furious at himself because he really had seriously fucked up. What was he going to do? He'd not only lost the women he loved, God, he hadn't even told her he loved her when she'd told him twice, but he'd lost Grace's mother. Grace was going to wake up and expect to see Gabriella instead of him. She wouldn't. Troy didn't even know if she would see Gabriella again and he slammed his fist into the cupboard again, ignoring the pain that was shooting through his arm as he ran a hand through his hair and, for the fourth time since he'd turned thirteen, fought tears.

Running his hand through his hair again, Troy took a deep breath to try and calm himself and then jerked when he heard Grace's loud cry from upstairs. Ignoring the fact that he was bleeding, Troy immediately started upstairs to Grace's room. Forcing himself to not look into the living room as he past it, knowing that a blanket and some pillows were spread out on the floor a painful reminder of what had happened during the night. Taking the steps two at a time, Troy opened his daughter's door and saw her sitting up in her crib, tears staining her cheeks as she saw him and raised her arms towards him. Troy strode over to the crib and lifted her out, ignoring the blood that was dripping onto her yellow pajamas, bringing her to his chest and holding onto her as she nestled against him. Turning his lips to her head, Troy planted a kiss on her head and heard her giggle. The innocent sound brought a weak smile to his lips and Troy stood there, holding his daughter to his chest and wishing he could take back the past half-hour. He didn't want that to happen, he wanted to be downstairs making pancakes with Gabriella like she'd suggested and kissing her every once in a while as they enjoyed their time before Grace woke up. He wanted Gabriella to know he loved her and that it wasn't just one night.

"Daddy screwed up baby-girl. Daddy really screwed up." Troy whispered into his daughter's ear and Grace didn't make a sound, sensing her father's distress. Instead she opened her mouth and smacked her mouth onto his cheek, in a kiss that had Troy grinning. Troy rubbed a hand up her back and sighed. He needed to see Gabriella. He didn't care that she probably needed space, he needed to see her and he intended on doing so.

* * *

Troy heard the doorbell ring before he'd even flicked open the paper he'd only bothered to get when he'd calmed down enough to bring Grace downstairs and feed her. Glancing at the clock he frowned, who the hell wanted to see him at one o'clock in the afternoon? He only wanted to see one person and Troy had promised himself that he was going to drive over to her dorm when Grace had woken up from her nap. He'd thought up till using Grace as a buffer and then his mind had gone blank. He didn't know how to make what had happened okay, he knew that it was going to take a lot of work to make up for what had happened and the more he thought about it, the more Troy realized that he had been becoming close to giving in. Hearing the doorbell ring again, Troy groaned and stood up heading out of the only room on the first floor that didn't remind him specifically of Gabriella and walking towards the front door. Running a hand through his already disheveled hair, Troy twisted the doorknob and opened the door freezing for the second time that day as his eyes met brown ones he hadn't seen since eight-thirty that morning.

"G-Gabriella." He choked out and stared at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was puffy, she was dressed in a pair of tracksuit pants that were too big for her and a shirt that she looked like she was drowning in. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her arms were folded tightly across her chest as she looked at him.

"Hey Troy. I, uh, I'm here to look after Grace so you can get to training." Gabriella said and Troy closed his eyes as a look came into her eyes that reminded him too much of his daughter and he nodded.

"Oh yeah. Right. Come in." Troy moved aside and Gabriella stepped inside, glancing around and shifting from one foot to another. Troy knew she was uncomfortable and let out a breath. He had to talk to her now, while Grace was asleep. Reaching out, Troy touched her arm and winced when she flinched at his touch.

"Hey. We need to talk." He said softly and Gabriella spun around to glare at him, the vulnerability in her evident as Troy's hand dropped away from arm.

"About what? This morning? Yeah, Troy. Let's talk about this morning! Let's talk about the way you made love to me all night, all fucking night, and then decided to tell me that nothing can happen! Let's talk about the way your reasons are all tied up to your daughter, who you know I love to bits, who you know I would do anything for! Let's talk about the way made a decision for me that I'd already made for myself! Let's talk about the way you broke my heart, Troy. Let's talk about that!" Tears had started almost as soon as she had and Troy winced at her shrill words, hearing the pain and anger in them as she struggled to gain a hold of her emotions.

"Yes Brie, let's talk about that." Troy moved closer to him as Gabriella stared up at him, as if lost for words. She took a step back when she realized how close he was becoming and held up her hands as if to push him away before he got too close.

"I don't want to talk about that Troy!" She exclaimed and Troy didn't respond. "I don't want to talk about the way I made a fool of myself this morning. I don't want to talk about the fact that it hurt the moment you opened up your mouth to tell me nothing could happen between us. I don't want to talk about the fact that I'm in love with you and you don't love me back! I-" Troy cut her off before she could start ranting again, taking a quick step closer to her as she looked up at him.

"Did I at all say that I didn't love you back this morning?" He asked and Gabriella stared up at him as if lost for words, before she shook her head and brushed away a tear that spilt over.

"No. But you implied it. You didn't want me this morning Troy. You didn't want me there. And you really didn't want me after I told you I was a virgin." She said and Troy shook his head at her words.

"No, I didn't imply it. If I did, I didn't mean too. Gabriella, you have no idea how much I wanted you to be here this morning. As for the virgin thing, I was shocked. Did you honestly expect me to be anything but shocked after what happened during the night?" Troy asked, wanting to touch her, just to touch her, and refraining from it as she closed her eyes at the question.

"I thought you knew." She whispered and wondered where all her fight had gone as she reopened her eyes to look up at him. Troy shook his head and sighed.

"No. I didn't. Gabriella, do you know how long I've wanted to be with you like that? Do you know how many times I've questioned my reasoning behind why I haven't done anything about my feelings for you? Do you know how many times I've walked through that door," he gestured towards the front door, "and heard you in the kitchen, singing along to the stereo and let myself pretend that you were my girlfriend and that we did this every night?" He asked her gently, not wanting to get angry because he knew she needed to know how much she meant to him. Gabriella looked up at him and Troy was reminded of a small, lost child who was willing to latch onto the person that stopped to talk to them and he hoped to God that Gabriella would latch onto him.

"Then why did you say what you said this morning? Why did you not want me in the position for real?" Gabriella asked desperately and this time, Troy did touch her. He slid his hands up her arms and back down again as he looked at her.

"Because I really thought I was doing the right thing. I really thought that all those reasons were good ones-" Gabriella cut him off with a shake of her head.

"So you honestly thought that if you got involved with me and then hurt me I wouldn't stick around for Grace, if not for you? You honestly thought that because I was twenty-one I would feel burdened if I ever decided to go traveling?" She asked shakily and Troy ran his hands up and down her arms again, nodding as she stared at him.

"Yeah I really did. Gabriella, I didn't want to hurt you anymore than I wanted to hurt Grace and I figured, around the time that I fell for you, that if I stayed friends with you, just friends, none of us would get hurt and Grace would be able to keep you as her mother." Troy said quietly and Gabriella sighed, moving closer to him as they both saw a major flaw in his reasoning.

"What about you? Didn't you consider yourself while you thought that out?" Gabriella asked softly and Troy closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No I didn't. I thought I could handle having you only as a friend. I just…didn't want you and Grace to get hurt because of me." He sighed and Gabriella let out a weak laugh at his words.

"Well, you really fucked that one up didn't you? I mean, you hurt me Troy. You really hurt me." Gabriella said her voice becoming quieter as she became serious. Troy acted on instinct rather than sense when his forehead dropped to rest on hers. It was beginning to become clear.

"I know." He whispered and felt Gabriella's hand slide up towards his elbows. "I'm so sorry Gabriella, so, so sorry. I thought I was right. I thought that I could handle having you for just one night and then treating it like it shouldn't have happened." He whispered and Gabriella moved her body closer to his, her eyes gazing up into his as he spoke.

"I meant what I said this morning Troy. I really did." She murmured and Troy felt his stomach turn at his words.

"Which part?" He said, raising a hand from her arm and pushing a curl behind her ear. Gabriella sighed.

"The part where I said nothing mattered but you and Grace." Gabriella said softly and hesitated before she continued. "I meant that Troy. I-I don't want to travel and see the world if I can stay here with you and Grace. I don't care about our age difference or the fact that you probably will hurt me, I don't care. You and Grace are the only things that have mattered for a long time." She said quietly and Troy closed his eyes as the words washed over him, this time he listened, this time he accepted what she was saying.

"You matter Gabriella. Not only to Grace. But to me too. You matter to me so much and I'm sorry about this morning. I really am." Troy said and Gabriella nodded gently, gripping his arms tightly before she closed her eyes.

"I love you Troy." She whispered and felt him relax at her words. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to say anything back and felt foolish for half a second before he replied.

"I love you too. I love you so, so much." Troy murmured and Gabriella closed her eyes at his words.

Neither moved and Troy found that he didn't need to kiss her to seal what he'd just said, he was happy standing there, leaning his forehead against Gabriella's and holding her arms. If just one night had given him Gabriella then he should have taken just one night a long time ago.

**A/N: Hmmm, not sure about the ending. I hope you guys liked it though, I will consider another chapter. But if I can't be bothered than I can't be bothered!**


End file.
